For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Email*
SIGN UP
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read ourPrivacy notice
A Staffordshire businessman has appeared in court after a mammoth 27-tonne pile of waste was dumped in the middle of a country lane.
The 20-metre long mountain of rubbish blocked residents and vehicles for more than a day on Watery Lane in Lichfield after it appeared overnight on 19 January this year.
Measuring two metres high and weighing in at 27-tonnes, the pile cost ￡10,000 to clear, according to the council.
Environmental health teams launched an investigation and in March, officers seized a lorry believed to have been used in the incident.
Darren Sheen, 40, and Fusion Engineering (Staffordshire) Limited denied all charges at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday.
open image in gallery
Darren Sheen and Fusion Engineering (Staffordshire) Limited appeared at Stafford Crown Court (Jacob King/PA)(PA Archive)
He is charged with five counts: depositing controlled waste, depositing controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health, failure to transfer waste to an authorised person, wilful obstruction of the highway, and dangerous driving.
The Leader of Lichfield District Council, councillor Doug Pullen, said: “The defendant has appeared at Crown Court and pleaded not guilty to all the charges related to fly-tipping in Watery Lane.
“We are disappointed that due to the backlog in the court system the trial will not be held until 2027 but I have every confidence in our Environmental Health team and we will continue to take a zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping in Lichfield District whenever it takes place.”
Sheen, of Grange Road in Uttoexeter, and the company will now face trial in March 2027.